XN000022-1973-06-22 — Page 11

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Friday, June 22, 1973

APPEAL TO EMPLOYERS TO TAKE ON BLIND TELEPHONE OPERATORS

In spite of repeated appeals, employers are still showing re-

luctance to employ blind telephone operators, a spokesman for the Social

Welfare Department said today.

He said that while more employers were beginning to accept blind

workers in other jobs, many still did not recognise that they can work

as telephone operators just as well.

"It is hard to understand this apathy.

Blind people who choose

to become telephone operators are trained for the work at the Rotary

Training Centre of the Society for the Blind," he said.

"Those blind people who are holding jobs as telephone operators

have been praised by their employers, and in some instances, are considered

to be better than their more fortunate counterparts."

At the moment, there are five trained blind workers waiting for

jobs as telephone operators.

The spokesman again called on employers to consider offering jobs

to these people. This can be done through Mr. Joseph Ho of the Social

Welfare Department's Job Placement Unit at telephone 3-419221.

The unit is responsible for finding jobs for handicapped people.

During May it placed 27 disabled people in jobs. These included

seven blind, 11 crippled, two deaf or dumb, three former mental patients,

one mentally retarded person and three former TB patients.

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